


Ink Me

by PrinceSkylar



Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU
Genre: Damian Wayne Feels, Light Angst, M/M, Out of Character, Tattoos, background robinpile, but not very low key at all, jason is low key in love, like very light barely there, mentioned relationship with the other two batboys, older Damian, probably
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-27
Updated: 2017-05-27
Packaged: 2018-11-05 12:32:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,695
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11013513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrinceSkylar/pseuds/PrinceSkylar
Summary: "I'm not meeting anyone," Damian sneered. Ah yes, there was the anxiety induced irritation. "I'm going so I can get a tattoo."If Jason had still been holding his bowl, it would have shattered on the floor. Or against the wall. He whirled around again and eyed the other for a few long, drug out moments. A part of him kind of wished Alfred would walk in, or Tim would wander in looking for coffee, just to save him from this bizarre situation. This was...weird. "...You're getting a tattoo."





	Ink Me

**Author's Note:**

> I got the Robin logo tattooed on me today, so this idea kinda just popped into my head.

Jason hadn't expected Damian to seek him out in the middle of the afternoon. In fact, as far as he knew Damian should have been asleep after the amount of time he had spent on patrol with Bruce the night before. Hell, Jason would have been, and he knew Dick and the others would agree. Damian, though, was always awfully different in that regard. When Jason saw the teen's head pop into the kitchen he had paused, his spoonful of cereal half way to his mouth. "What's up, Little Bat?"

"What are your plans for the day, Todd?" Damian strode into the kitchen, running a hand through his hair. It was starting to get long, Jason noticed, and started to hang in front of the other's eyes. He would definitely have to pester Dick into taking the kid to get it trimmed. Or Tim.

...Definitely Tim. That would be ten times more amusing. "Aside from harass Dick when he shows up? Not much. Why?"

Damian yanked open the fridge with more force than necessary, fishing out a water bottle. He turned around to lean back against the fridge, unscrewing the lid and taking a drink, those green eyes never once leaving Jason's in a way that made him shiver a bit. Damian spoke up finally and gave a very stiff shrug of his shoulders. "I wanted to go somewhere and I would appreciate it if you would come with me, Todd."

"Me?" Jason scoffed and set his spoon in his bowl, arching an eyebrow. It wasn't often Damian asked to go somewhere with him personally and it was quite a change from the way he just obediently went with Jason wherever. This _had_ to be good. "I'm flattered, Little Bat. But where would you be wanting to go with me in broad day light? We usually go out at night."

"Tch...If I tell you, you are prohibited from telling Grayson, Drake, _and_ Father." Damian pointed out, green eyes narrowing a bit.

_Oh yeah_ , this was gonna be good.

"Cross my heart." Jason drawled out, a smirk tugging at his lips. "So where is it? Some sort of underground rave or whatever you teenagers are doing now?"

Damian blinked and snorted, an amused smile on his lips. "Todd, have you ever known me to go to a rave?"

"No, but that's the only thing I could think of that you don't want Bruce _and_ the boys knowing." Jason retorted as he grabbed his bowl and stood up, heading towards the sink. "So where are you going then, huh? I already swore my oath to you, oh cryptic one."

"A tattoo parlor."

Jason's bowl tumbled into the sink, milk and cheerios splattering inside. "Fuck!" He hissed and switched on the water, whirling around to eye the teenager looking back at him. Damian stared back at him, jaw set and eyes narrowed, but Jason could see the way his shoulders stiffened.

Damian was _nervous_.

Jason was _shocked_.

"...Are you meeting someone there?" Jason asked finally, looking back at the sink to shut the water off. He grimaced at the soggy mess of cereal, making a mental note to apologize to Alfred later. A lot. "I don't wanna be babysitting you and some other teenager, you know."

"I'm not meeting anyone," Damian sneered. Ah yes, there was the anxiety induced irritation. "I'm going so I can get a tattoo."

If Jason had still been holding his bowl, it would have shattered on the floor. Or against the wall. He whirled around again and eyed the other for a few long, drug out moments. A part of him kind of wished Alfred would walk in, or Tim would wander in looking for coffee, just to save him from this bizarre situation. This was...weird. "...You're getting a tattoo."

"Yes, i am of age, am I not?" Damian asked stiffly.

"Well, yeah, you're nineteen." Jason agreed, reaching up to run a hand through his hair. "You're seriously getting a tattoo?"

"That's what I said," Damian sighed, rolling his eyes. "I have an appointment for an hour and a half from now. Are you going to come with me or not, Todd? I, the son of Bruce Wayne, cannot just stroll down town alone and I would feel more comfortable with you there rather than...anyone else."

Now that was something he was going to hold over Dick's head for ages.

"Alright...as weird as this is, sure. Why not?" Jason smiled a bit and shrugged, cocking his head a little bit. "But can I know why? Bruce doesn't like the idea of having tattoos, you know. Could be recognized by-"

"By a villain or civilian, I'm aware of the risks, Todd." Damian sniffed. "I'm old enough to make my own choices about my body, which I know you are very aware of."

If Jason wasn't Jason, he would have blushed a bit. "Okay, okay. Go get dressed and we'll go, Little Bat."

The moment Damian left the kitchen Jason slumped against the counter, scoffing to himself. Sure, Damian had grown up a lot in the last few years, but a tattoo? That didn't sound anything like Damian...hell, Jason didn't even have a tattoo. None of them in their little clan did, as far as he knew. Hell, Jason kind of wanted to call Dick just so he had someone to be just as confused with but he had promised Damian and he wasn't about to break his word. It had taken ages for him and Damian to get as close as they were, even before they started doing whatever it was they were doing with Tim and Dick. He wasn't in any rush to throw that away.

Twenty minutes later they were in Jason's car, a beat up old thing he only ever used to keep Bruce from bitching about the noise of his bike in the middle of the day. Jason, one hand on the wheel while the other dangled out his open window, glanced over at Damian again. The kid had been awfully quiet since they got into the car, lower lip caught between his teeth while his fingers tapped idly on his thigh. This mellowed out Damian always managed to catch him by surprise. Damian being older had definitely adjusted his attitude, if only enough to make him mostly civil. It was kind of cute, but then again Jason wouldn't mind any version of Damian.

"Why do you keep looking at me, Todd?"

"What, I cant admire my babe?" Jason shot back, having the audacity to feign hurt.

Damian snorted, making Jason's lips twitch into a smile. "I don't recall Grayson or Drake being here..."

"Shut up, asshole." Jason snorted back at him, rolling his eyes a little bit as he turned the car down a busier street. "You're my _baby_ babe."

"Now you're the asshole." Damian shot back, scowling at him with far less annoyance than he'd give anyone else. Well, didn't Jason just feel flattered?

The tattoo shop wasn't too bad on the outside, easing a bit of Jason's lingering uncertainty about this whole issue. Leave it to _Damian_ to find the fancy tattoo shop in town. He couldn't help but scoff as he followed Damian into the shop, arching an eyebrow at the way the other jolted at the loud buzzing of a tattoo gun going at it in the back. He couldn't help but snort, shoving him gently. "Scared already?"

"Hardly." Damian muttered, crossing his arms over his chest.

He looked way too much like his dad, doing that. It made Jason sighed a bit, lifting a hand to ruffle the other's hair, and he grinned at the irritated huff he received. "You're growing up so much, Damian. You're killing me."

"Imagine how Grayson feels." Damian shot back, smacking Jason's hand away. "He is the oldest, after all."

"True-...ah, fuck. I can't take pictures and send them to him while you're getting your ink done." Jason groaned and no, he most certainly wasn't pouting. "When are you gonna tell them? I don't know if I can hold back too long, you know. I love rubbing it in Dick's face when I get to do cool stuff with you."

"I'm sure Drake and Grayson will see it the next time one of them undresses me." Damian pointed out with an amused smile. He shrugged though and looked over at him. "I'll allow you to take a picture of the finished thing and send it to Grayson."

"Got yourself a fucking deal, hot stuff."

Damian was called over for his tattoo, then, and Jason found himself following with a wave of giddiness. The tattoo artist shook Damian's hand, gesturing for him to lay on the tattoo bench before him. Jason watched, eyebrow arched, as Damain got situated on his side, back facing the artist. The guy got started rolling up the sleeve of Damian's torso, and Jason nodded a bit to himself. "An upper arm tattoo?"

"Yes, it could be easily hidden in that area." Damian replied, green eyes watching the artist clean the area with a wet wipe from the corner of his eye. He returned his gaze to Jason again. "I'm surprised that you of all people don't have one yet."

"I've considered it," He admitted as he leaned back against a wall. He eyed the artist as he turned to get the needles ready. "I never had the time though, I guess. I used to tell Dick to get one."

"He would never." Damian snorted with a roll of his eyes. "You might have a bit of luck convincing Drake, though."

Jason chuckled softly. "Maybe." He agreed. "Although I feel like he would only do it if I did, too."

Whatever Damian was going to say died on his lips as he jolted a little in surprise at the sound of the needle turning on. He took a breath and Jason's expression softened just a little bit. "Just breathe, Dami. You've definitely experienced worse."

Damian frowned at him, and Jason saw that frown deepen as the needle started to pierce his skin. Jason chuckled and fished out his phone from his pocket, snapping a picture and then checking his messages, smiling at a message from Dick.

_Where'd you and Dami go?_

Jason glanced up at Damian, smiling at the green eyes already locked on him, before he typed up a quick reply.

_Out for a bit. Be home soon though._

Jason pushed off the wall and walked closer, tilting his head a little bit to try and get a good look at what the design was. He hadn't asked Damian what he had planned when they had left, though that was mostly because the kid had looked a little uneasy. Damian was watching him leer; he could feel those green eyes locked on him the entire time he stood there, head cocked to the side.

"Impatient, Todd?"

Jason snorted and glanced down at him. "Maybe. Gotta say though, you're not even making a face at it. No pain?"

"Like you previously stated; I've experienced worse." Damian replied, then averted his gaze a little bit. "It stings, I'll admit. It's tolerable. You and the others wouldn't even feel it."

"I'll remember that." Jason chuckled, stepping back a little to give the artist and Damian room. "I'll wait until it's done, then."

True to his word, Jason stood there by the wall, scrolling through his phone the whole time. He only looked up to check on Damian, eyes lingering on the other's lip caught between his teeth just a little longer than necessary. Tearing his eyes away felt like a damn chore.

It didn't take long, though Jason hadn't really expected Damian to go with anything _intricate_. He sat up and walked to a mirror across the room to look at it and Jason took his chance, striding over and peering into the mirror before blinking in surprise.

"A moon." It was a crescent moon, to be more exact, that took up most of Damian's upper arm. It was colored in black, all one solid color, and Jason eyed it for a second. It looked...nice. Simple, even, but nice on Damian's dark skin tone. He met Damian's gaze in the mirror. "Do you like it?"

Damian's expression was contemplative as he looked it over in the mirror before Jason saw the smallest smile tug at his lips. "It's perfect."

Damian was quick to pay for it and even exchanged a few words with the artist while Jason waited out in the car. When Damian climbed into the car, tattoo carefully bandaged up and a small bag of cleaning supplies in it, he was silent. Jason eyed him for a second before starting the car and driving away from the shop. "So, you're really happy with it?"

"I am. It looks nice." Damian replied with a small nod.

Jason nodded slowly, staring at the road before glancing over at him. "So, I've been holding back since it finished up but why did you pick it? Does it mean anything? If not that's cool, I suppose, but I'm just curious. Didn't peg you for a moon fanatic."

Damian was silent for a moment, and Jason was sure he wasn't going to answer, until he _did_. "The moon is used to represent many things, such as immortality, enlightenment, or even the dark side of nature. I've been exposed to many of those things for years. I suppose in a way, it partially represents that...an enlightenment of sorts of nature and all that it entails. However there is a bit more...personal reason, if I'm to be honest."

Jason would have been fine with that first explanation, really, if only to keep from asking Damian any unwanted questions. He was curious now, though, and he hummed a little bit. "What's the personal reason, Little Bat?"

"I am nineteen," Damian began, and Jason caught the hesitant, softer tone to the other's voice. "For most of my life I was told what to do and who to be. I was not my own person, but a belonging to other's. I didn't know what it felt like to truly make my own choices, to do something for myself instead of just listening to orders. Then, coming to live with Father I...suppose in a way it was the same. I was told what to do and who to be, but all in my best interest and I would not ask for it to have been any other way if I had the chance. But..." He hesitated and when Jason looked over Damian had closed his eyes, taking a breath. "Now that I'm older, it's different. I'm still expected to be...something great. To do great things. But I'm better now and I feel like a person...and I suppose getting a tattoo felt like I was doing something for myself. Something I was told I couldn't do by mother...grandfather...and even Father. It seems...childishly rebellious, I know, but it was something I had always admired people for doing and I wanted to do it."

Jason was silent for a few moments. It still caught him by surprise when Damian opened up to him about...well, anything. It made Jason's chest ache in the most addictive way, and if he were to be honest he could relate, if only on a small level. He'd grown up far different from Damian, obviously, but they weren't very different when it came down to it.

He supposed that was what made Damian so easy to deal with for so long.

"That's a great reason." Jason spoke up finally, nodding firmly. "I bet Dick's gonna cry when you say it and then Tim's gonna cuddle the shit out of you."

Damian laughed, a sound meant for the God's in Jason's opinion. "And what of you, Todd? What will you do now that you've heard it?"

"I'm gonna kiss the shit out of you as soon as we're out of this car." Jason smirked a little bit. "And then maybe smack the shit out of the tattoo."

"I will _murder_ you."


End file.
